This week, I’m BACK IN THE GYM!!! to share a couple of tips on how to take better care of your latissimus dorsi muscle through proper stretching techniques
Your lats — the large triangular-shaped muscle back muscle — stabilize your back while extending your shoulders, and help you do a lot of things, not to mention breathing.
I bet you see people in the gym doing pull-ups and chin-ups all the time, but rarely do you see them, stretching their lats.
If your lats get too tight, they can pull your shoulder down and forward which brings your head down, drops your chest and shortens your abdominals.
You’ll recognize the problem immediately when you see people with huge abs who have the forward-leaning posture of a gorilla!
This tightness also creates problems for your neck. I’ve seen a lot of people with C-5-C6 and C-6-C7 disc injuries in a lot of pain who don’t realize that it may come from tension in their lats, especially if they exercise a lot.
In my video, I’ll show you some simple ways to stretch your lats safely with the help of a Swiss ball, a pulley and even a doorway in your home.
Want to learn a lot more about stretching? Check out my course, Scientific Stretching: The Art and Science of Flexibility Training and my book, The Golf Biomechanics Manual, for lots more information
Love and chi,
Paul
